'^li'i. I",:' \ nil I iiii 1^ illli'ill! Frederic AXucas HARVARD UNIVERSITY. LIBRARY OF THE MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. \S3i\ ^^s^^A^^^^lAV^- ANIMALS OF THE PAST Phororhacos, a Patagonian Giant of the Miocene. From a drainnft hy Charles R. Knight. Science for Everybody ANIMALS OF, THJR PAST ' : f; / ! f f, I f ; BY FREDERIC A. LUCAS Curator of the Division of Comparative Anatomy, United States National Museum r FULLY ILLUSTRATED NEW YORK McCLURE, PHILLIPS & CO. ' 1901 ,Vi' 0, Copyright, 1900, by S. S. McClube Co. 1901, BY McCldre, Phillips & Co. Published November, 1901. ; TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTORY AND EXPLANATORY Use of scientific names, xvi ; estimates of age of earth, xvii restorations by Mr. Knight, xviii ; Works of Reference, xix. I. FOSSILS, AND HOW THEY ARE FORMED Definition of fossils, 1 ; fossils may be indications of animals or plants, 2 ; casts and impressions, 3 ; why fossUs are not more abundant, 4; conditions under which fossils are formed, 5; enemies of bones, 6 ; Dinosaurs engulfed in quicksand, 8 formation of fossils, 9; petrified bodies frauds, 10; natural casts, 10; leaves, 13; incrustations, 14; destruction of fossils, 15; references, 17. II. THE EARLIEST KNOWN VERTEBRATES Methods of interrogating Nature, 18 ; thickness of sedimen- tary rocks, 20 ; earliest traces of life, 21 ; early vertebrates difficult of preservation, 22 ; armored fishes, 23 ; abundance of early fishes, 25 ; destruction of fish, 26 ; carboniferous sharks, 29 ; known mostly from teeth and spines, 30 ; refer- ences, 32. III. IMPRESSIONS OF THE PAST Records of extinct animals, 33 ; earliest traces of animal life, 34 ; formation of tracks, 35 ; tracks in all strata, 36 ; discov- ery of tracks, 37 ; tracks of Dinosaurs, 39 ; species named from tracks, 41 ; footprints aid in determining attitude of ani- mals, 43 ; tracks at Carson City, 45 ; references, 47. vi CONTENTS IV. RULERS OF THE ANCIENT SEAS The Mosasaurs, 49 ; history of the first known Mosasaur, 50 ; jaws of reptiles, 53 ; extinction of Mosasaurs, 55 ; the sea- serpent, 56 ; Zeuglodon, 58 ; its habits, 59 ; Koch's Hydrar- chus, 61 ; bones collected by Mr. Schuchert, 63; abundance of sharks, 64 ; the great Carcharodon, 65 ; arrangement of sharks' teeth, 67 ; references, 68. V. BIRDS OF OLD Earhest birds, 70 ; wings, 71 ; study of young animals, 73 ; the curious Hoactzin, 74 ; first intimation of birds, 76; Archae- opteryx, 77 ; birds with teeth, 78 ; cretaceous birds, 79 ; Hes- perornis, 80 ; loss of power of flight, 81 ; covering of Hesper- ornis, 8-2 ; attitude of Hesperornis, 83 ; curious position of legs, 84 ; toothed birds disappointing, 85 ; early development of birds, 86 ; eggs of early birds, 87 ; references, 88. VI. THE DINOSAURS Discovery of Dinosaur remains, 90 ; nearest relatives of Dino- saurs, 91 ; relation of birds to reptiles, 92 ; brain of Dino- saurs, 93 ; parallel between Dinosaurs and Marsupials, 95 ; the great Brontosaurus, 96 ; food of Dinosaurs, 97 ; habits of Diplodocus, 99 ; the strange Australian Moloch, 100 ; com- bats of Triceratops, 101 ; skeleton of Triceratops, 102 ; Thes- pesius and his kin, 104 ; the carnivorous Ceratosaurus, 106 ; Stegosaurus, the plated lizard, 106 ; references, 109. VII. READING THE RIDDLES OF THE ROCKS Fossils regarded as sports of nature, 111; qualifications of a successful collector, 112; chances of collecting, 114; excava- tion of fossils, 115 ; strengthening fossils for shipment, 117 ; great size of some specimens, 118; the preparation of fos- sils, 119; mistakes of anatomists, 120; reconstruction of Triceratops, 121 ; distinguishing characters of bones, 122 ; ; CONTENTS vii the skeleton a problem in mechanics, 124 ; clothing the bones with flesh, 127 ; the covering of animals, 127 ; outside orna- mentation, 129 ; probabilities in the covering of animals, 130 ; impressions of extinct animals, 131 ; mistaken inferences from bones of Mammoth, 133 ; coloring of large land animals, 134 ; color markings of young animals, 136 ; references, 137. VIII. FEATHERED GIANTS Legend of the Moa, 139 ; our knowledge of the Moas, 141 ; some Moas wingless, 142 ; deposits of Moa bones, 143 ; le- gend of the Roc, 144 ; discovery of iEpyornis, 145 ; large- sounding names, 146 ; eggs of great birds, 147 ; the Patago- nian Phororhacos, 149 ; the huge Brontornis, 150 ; develop- ment of giant birds, 153 ; distribution of flightless birds, 154 ; relation between flightlessness and size, 156 ; references, 156. IX. THE ANCESTRY OF THE HORSE North America in the Eocene age, 160 ; appearance of early horses, 163 ; early domestication of the horse, 165 ; the toes of horses, 166 ; Miocene horses small, 167 ; evidence of gene- alogy of the horse, 1 70 ; meaning of abnormalities, 1 70 changes in the climate and animals of the West, 174 ; refer- ences, 176. X. THE MAMMOTH The story of the killing of the Mammoth, 177 ; derivation of " the word mammoth," 178 ; mistaken ideas as to size of the Mammoth, 179 ; size of Mammoth and modern elephants, 180 ; finding of an entire Mammoth, 182 ; birthplace of the Mammoth, 184 ; beliefs concerning its bones, 185 ; the range of the animal, 186 ; theories concerning the extinction of the Mammoth, 188 ; Man and Mammoth, 189 ; origin of the Alaskan Live Mammoth Story, 190 ; traits of the Innuits, 192 ; an entire Mammoth recently found, 194 ; references, 195. viii CONTENTS XL THE MASTODON Differences between Mastodon and Mammoth, 198 ; affinities of the Mastodon, 200 ; vestigial structures, 201 ; distribution of American Mastodon, 203 ; first noticed in North America, 204 ; thought to be carnivorous, 206 ; Koch's Missourium, 208 ; former abundance of Mastodons, 209 ; appearance of the animal, 210; its size, 211 ; was man contemporary with Mastodon ? 213 ; the Lenape stone, 215 ; legend of the big buffalo, 216 ; references, 218. XII. WHY DO ANIMALS BECOME EXTINCT.? Extinction sometimes evolution, 221 ; over-specialization as a cause for extinction, 222 ; extinction sometimes unaccounta- ble, 223 ; man's capability for harm small in the past, 224 ; old theories of great con\'ulsions, 226 ; changes in nature slow, 227 ; the case of Lingula, 228 ; local extermination, 229 ; the Moas and the Great Auk, 232 ; the case of large animals, 233 ; interdependence of living beings, 234 ; coyotes and fruit, 236 ; Shaler on the Miocene flora of Europe, 236 ; man's desire for knowledge, 238, IndeX; ......... 24/3 NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS The original drawings, made especially for this book, are by Charles R. Knight and James M. Gleeson, under the direction of Mr. Knight. The fact that the originals of these drawings have been presented to and accepted by the United States National Museum is evidence of their scientific value. Mr. Knight has been commissioned by the Smithsonian Institution, the United States National Museum, and the New York Museum of Natural History, to do their most im- portant pictures of extinct animals. He is the one modern artist who can picture prehistoric animals with artistic charm of presentation as well as with full scientific accuracy. In this instance, the author has personally superintended the artist's work, so that it is as cori'ect in every respect as present knowledge makes possible. Of the minor illustrations, some are by Mr. Bruce Horsfall, an artist attached to the staff of the New York Museum of Natural History, and all have been drawTi with the help of and under the author"'s supervision. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Phororhacos, a Patagonian Giant of the Miocene Frontispiece From a Drawing by Charles R. Knight Fig. Page 1. Diplomystus, an Ancient Member of the Shad Family ..... 4 From the fish-bed at Green River, Wyoming. From a specimen in the United States National Museum. 2. Bryozoa, from the Shore of the Devonian Sea that Covered Eastern New York . 10 From, a specimen in Yale University Museum, prepared by Dr. Beecher. 3. Skeleton of a Radiolarian Very Greatly En- larged ....... 17 4. Cephalaspis and Loricaria, an Ancient and a Modern Armored Fish . .24 5. Pterichthys, the Wing Fish ... 32 6. Where a Dinosam' Sat Down . .38 7. Footprints of Dinosaurs on the Brownstone of the Connecticut Valley . .40 From a slab in the museum of Amherst College. : xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. Page 8. The Track of a Three-toed Dinosaur . 47 9. A Great Sea Lizard, Tylosaurus Dyspelor . 52 From a drawing by J. M. Gleeson. 10. Jaw of a Mosasaur, Showing the Joint that Increased the Swallowing Capacity of that Reptile ...... 54 11. Koch's Hydrarchus. Composed of Portions of the Skeletons of Several Zeuglodons . 62 12. A Tooth of Zeuglodon, One of the "Yoke Teeth," from which it derives the name . 69 13. Archaeopteryx, the Earliest Known Bird . 70 From the specimen in the Berlin Museum. 14. Natm-e's Four Methods of Making a Wing Bat, Pteryodactyl, Archaeopteryx, and Modern Bird 72 15. Young Hoactzins . .75 16. Hesperornis, the Great Toothed Diver . 82 From a draicing by J. M. Gleeson, 17. Archaeopteryx . .89 As Restored by Mr. Pycraft. 18. Thespesius, a Common Herbivorous Dinosaur of the Cretaceous . .90 From a draicing by Charles R. Knight. 19. A Hind Leg of the Great Brontosaurus, the Largest of the Dinosaurs . .96 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xiii Fig. Page 20. A Single Vertebra of Brontosaurus . 97 21. Moloch, a Modern Lizard that Surpasses the Stegosaurs in All but Size . .100 From a draioing by J. M. Gleeson. 22. Skeleton of Triceratops . .103 23. The Horned Ceratosaurus, a Carnivorous Dinosaur . .106 From a drawing by J. M. Gleeson. 24. Stegosaurus, an Ai'mored Dinosam- of the Jurassic . .108 From a drawing by Charles R. Knight. 25. Skull of Ceratosaurus . .110 From a specimen in the United States National Museum. 26. Triceratops, He of the Three-horned Face 126 FroTn a statuette by Charles R. Knight. 27. A Hint of Buried Treasures . .137 28. Rehcs of the Moa 140 29. Eggs of Feathered Giants, ^pyornis. Ostrich, Moa, Compared with a Hen's Egg 148 30.